Method of producing dyed glass fiber yarn



3,068,546 METHOD OF PRODUCING DYED GLASS FIBER YARN Remus F. Caroselli and Roland K. Gagnon, Cumberland,

R.I., assignors to Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation, a corporation of Delaware N Drawing. Filed Feb. 24, 1959, Ser. No. 794,848 7 Claims. (Cl. 28-75) This invention relates to the production of dyed glass fiber yarns and more particularly relates to a method for effectively forming colored yarns which may be used to produce glass fabrics having novel design and multicolor effects.

In many ways, glass fibers constitute an ideal material for textile fabrics, such as are used in dress goods, draperies, curtains and the like. Some of the advantages that are achieved with fabrics produced from glass fiber yarns are that such fabrics never need ironing, cannot burn, are shrink-resistant, dirt-resistant, stain-resistant, and rot and mildew-proof. Methods of finishing glass cloth have bene developed so that glass fabrics may now be produced which have good hand and soft drape and which clean easily and stand up under continued handling.

In order to develop some of these desirable characteristics, the fabric, after being woven, is subjected to intense heat of approximately 1200 F. or more to soften and relax the yarn and to give a permanent set to the weave. This results in fabrics which are permanently wrinkle-proof. The heat treated fabric is then passed through a finishing treatment which gives it a high resistance to abrasion, after which it is cured and an after treatment which gives it wash fastness, and water repellency is applied and the fabric is again cured.

In order to develop deep, even shades the pigments normally used in the dyeing of glass fabrics have usually been organic. Because organic pigments are subject to decomposition at elevated temperatures the glass fabrics have heretofore had to be either solid colored or printed following the weaving process as no successful method of dyeing continuous yarn had been devised by which colored yarns, which would withstand excessive temperatures on the order of 1200 F., were satisfactorily produced. Styling flexibility achieved in fabrics formed from glass fiber yarn was thus limited to standard piece dyeing or printing of this type of fabric.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a dyed glass yarn which will provide for a wider degree of styling flexibility in fabrics woven therefrom than has been heretofore possible.

Another object of this invention is to provide a glass yarn having a good shade of color of exceptional light fastness evenly distributed throughout the yarn, said colored yarn being resistant to heat treating temperatures of about 1200 F. and greater.

A further object of this invention is to provide a colored glass fiber yarn which may be woven into a fabric which in turn may be heat treated at elevated temperatures to set the weave and relax the yarn, said colored yarn being resistant to the elevated temperatures required under such heat treatments to the extent that the strength characteristics and the color are not adversely affected or alternatively that a heat stable color is developed on and in the yarn at the elevated temperatures.

Patented Dec. 18, 1962 Still another object of this invention is to provide a method for producing such a colored glass fiber yarn.

These and other objects will become more evident during the course of the following discussions.

In accordance with the method of this invention, yarns comprised of continuous glass filaments are bulked by feeding the yarn into a jet of air or other compressible fluid so that the yarn is supported by the jet of air and the individual filaments are separated from each other and whipped about violently in the turbulent area. In the process of this invention it is only necessary for the yarn to be passed through a zone of suflicient turbulence for a sufiicient distance to separate the filaments and form them into convolutions and other means for forming a turbulent zone may be used. The bulked continuous yarn thus produced is then fed through a dye bath of finely ground colloidally dispersed inorganic pigments, after which the excess dye is removed from the yarn and the dye impregnated yarn is dried.

By way of illustration, and not limitation, the following defines a method of carrying out this invention. A single end yarn comprised of continuous filaments of glass is texturized by jetting a stream of air so as to form a turbulent area around the yarn as it is drawn therethrough in accordance with the discloseure of US. Patent No. 2,783,- 609, which issued March 5, 1957 to A. L. Breen. The bulked yarn thus produced is passed into and through an aqueous dye bath having a finely divided inorganic pigment dispersed therein. The yarn is thereby Well impregnated and pigment is actually entrapped within the yarn as well as being adsorbed on the surfaces of the glass filaments. The treated yarn is then passed between opposed resilient rollers whereby the excess dye bath solution is removed at the same time that'the dye solution is picked up by the bulked yarn and evenly distributed throughout said yarn.

The specific formulation of the dye bath used is as follows: 210 grams of Lemon Yellow No. 10,106 pigment, supplied by B. F. Drakenfeld Company, Inc, is added to 3055 grams of water and intimately dispersed therein. The pigment as suppliedby B. F. Drakenfeld is in the form of a paste which comprises finely ground cadmium-type ceramic pigment in an aqueous dispersion to which a non-ionic surface active agent, a colloidal suspending agent and a preservative have been added. The pigment was initially prepared by calcining the raw materials at a high temperature and grinding the resultant product so that all the particles pass a 325 mesh screen.

The yarn is continuously passed through the dye bath at a rate of about 220 feet per minute and then into an oven which is maintained at a temperature of about 600 F. The resultant dried yarn is dyed an even, deep shade of yellow which will not rub off or bleed during subsequent treatment. This yarn is then woven, with one or more different colored y'arns, to form a fabric in which the design is actually woven into the fabric, thus creating novel design and multicolor effects.

The woven fabric is then passed directly to a weave set oven which is operating at a temperature of about 1200" F. This oven softens and relaxes the glass, putting a permanent crimp in the yarn and setting the weave for all time. This treatment provides the wrinkle-proof feature of glass fiber fabric. In the oven, the volatiles remaining in the dyed yarn are volatilized and the pigment is actually fused to the filaments to some extent. The Lemon Yellow No. 10,106 pigment has a metallic base which retains its color at the treating temperature.

The heat treated fabric is then passed through a finishing bath and into a curing oven operated at 320 F. wherein the film forming resin contained in the finishing bath is cured on the cloth to provide a high resistance to abrasion plus good hand and soft drape. Various typical finishing compositions as well as conditions of applications are disclosed in the patent to R. F. Caroselli et al. No. 2,686,737. A further after treatment with a water repellent such as stearato-chromyl chloride is provided by passingthe resin coated cloth into a bath containing the water repellent and then into a second curing oven maintained at a temperature of 340 F. Wash fastness and water repellency are thus imparted to the fabric and the fabric is now ready for further fabrication steps.

Ceramic type pigments composed of complex inorganic compounds such as iron, chromium, zinc, cobalt, copper, aluminum, cadmium, and selenium, have proven to be especially valuable in the practice of this invention. These pigments may be, by way of example, initially prepared by intimately mixing a vitrifiable base and a ceramic color such as cadmium sulfide selenide red and then calcining the mixture at high temperatures. After calcinetion, the ceramic frit having the color fused therein is ground so that all particles will pass a 325 mesh screen. This provides a fine powder which is heat and light stable, will not migrate or bleed and does not change color during processing. Preferably, the finely ground inorganic pigments are then dispersed in a water medium containing a non-ionic surface active agent, a colloidal suspending agent and the necessary preservative agent or fungicide. Depending on the type of pigment, the dispersion will contain approximately between 50 and 75% pigment. The purpose of the non-ionic surface active agent and the colloidal suspending agent is to provide a dye bath constituted of as true a dispersion of an inorganic pigment as is possible. The inorganic pigments used may alternatively be designed to develop colors at tem peratures of about 1200 F. which in turn are light stable. In order to aid more effectively in dispersing the inorganic pigment throughout the dye bath, small quantities of organic thickening agents may be added thereto. By way of example, we have found that 0.2% by weight of thickener W590'7, supplied by Inter-Chemical Corporation, may be added to the dye bath to supply a slightly more viscous dye bath in which the inorganic pigment is retained in a more completely dispersed form. Thickener W5907 is a polycarboxylic acid of high molecular weight. When using thickener W, we have found that the addition of ammonia to give a pH in the range of 8 to 8.5 or slightly higher is necessary to provide aid in dispersing the pigment. Other organic compositions which will provide a slightly more viscous bath at a low solids concentration may be used equally as well, the only real criticality depending upon the amount of organic material finally picked up by the yarn prior to treatment at high temperatures. The amount of organic material is preferably kept at a minimum in order to insure against flashing of the organic materials when the dyed yarn is oven treated at temperatures of about 1200 F. which may result in the breakdown of the glass filaments. Also a high organic content at this stage might result in' a discoloration due to incomplete combustion. a V

When treating the woven fabric to soften and relax the yarn and set the weave, temperatures of about 90() to 1250 F. and above are preferably maintained in the weave-set oven.

Alternatively to theme of an aqueous dye bath, it has been found that the bulked yarns may be successfully dyed using dispersions of finely divided inorganic pigiii) ments in volatile organic liquids such at petroleum or aromatic solvents. Usually 5 to 15% by weight of, an inorganic pigment 0f the type above described is dispersed in a solvent such as toluol to form the dye bath. Solvent compatible dispersing agents may be used to aid in dispersing the pigments. Such solvent systems are somewhat restrictive due to the possibility of toxic fumes and fire hazards but they do provide an advantage as to dying the treated yarn.

The temperatures maintained in the drying and curing ovens are dependent on the speed of the yarn and the length of the path of the yarn through the oven as well as the specific drying or curing treatment provided at that particular stage of the process. Although 220 feet per minute was given above, by way of example, speeds greatly in excess as well as slower speeds might equally as well be used dependent on percent dye pickup and subsequent heating conditions.

As stated herein, heretofore fabrics produced from glass fiber yarn were either dyed solid colors in the piece or printed. With yarns produced in accordance with the method of this invention, design and multicolor effects that could not be achieved in standard piece dyeing or printing are an accomplished fact. Woven stripes, plaids and tweed effects are just a few examples; With yarns produced in accordance with the method of this invention, fabrics can now be designed and woven with extraordinary versatility equaling, any other fiber in the curtain and Minimum standards and physical properties of fabrics woven from yarns produced in accordance with the methods of this invention are at least the same as have been established for piece dyed glass fiber fabric materials. Exceptional light fastness is an inherent quality of the yarns produced in accordance with the method of this invention.

Since many different embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited by the specific illustration, except to the extent defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. An improved method of producing a multicolored glass fiber fabric comprising bulking a yarn of coutinous glass filaments by passing the yarn through a zone of sufiicient turbulence to separate the filaments sufiiciently to provide an open structure which readily accepts coloring pigment, passing the yarn through a dispersion of an inorganic pigment, removing excess dispersion and distributing the dye uniformly throughout the yarn by pass ing the, yarn through rollers, drying the yarn at about 600 F., weaving a fabric from this yarn and at least one other yarn dyed in this manner butrhaving a diiferent color, heating the fabric at about 1200 F. to remove any volatile materials from the fabric, to fuse the pigment t0 the glass and to weave-set the fabric, passing the fabric through a glass fabric finish, drying the fabric at a temperature of about 320 F., and passing the fabric through a stearato chromyl chloride bath followed by drying at about 340 F. to provide a water-repellent finish on the glass fabric. Y

2. A method in accordance with claim 1 in which the dispersion medium is water.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1 in which the dispersion medium is a volatile organic liquid.

'4. in arr-improved method for forming a dyed glass fiber yarn the, steps comprising bulking a yarn of continuous glass filaments by passing said yarn through a zone of suificient turbulence for a suificient distance to separate the filaments and form them into convolutions, impregnating said bulked yarn by passingthe yarn through a dispersion of a finely divided inorganic pigment in a suitable carrier and into a constricted 'zone whereby the excess dispersion is removed from the yarn and the remainingpigment is uniformly distributed throughout he yarn, and drying the yarn. l

5. A method in accordance with claim 4 in which the dispersion medium is water.

6. A method in accordance with claim 4 in which the dispersion medium is a volatile organic liquid.

7. Method for fabricating a multicolored glass fabric which comprises forming yarns of glass filaments, passing the yarn through a zone of sufficient turbulence to separate the filaments and form them into convolutions, impregnating two or more yarns with individually diiferently colored, finely divided inorganic pigments which become entrapped within the convolutions, weaving said yarns into a fabric, treating the fabric at an elevated temperature to relax the yarn and set the weave, coating the fabric with a textile finish and Water repellent, and drying the fabric.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Whiffen Jan. 28, 1930 Foster et al. July 18, 1950 Waggoner Apr. 22, 1952 Hansen June 24, 1952 Barnett July 24, 1956 Breen Mar. 5, 1957 Parker et a1. Oct, 8, 1957 Evans et a1 Mar. 31, 1959 Budd Mar. 29, 1960 

1. AN IMPROVED METHOD OF PRODUCING A MULTICOLORED GLASS FIBER FABRIC COMPRISING BULKING A YARN OF CONTINUOUS GLASS FILAMENTS BY PASSING THE YARN THROUGH A ZONE OF SUFFICIENT TURBULENCE TO SEPARATE THE FILAMENTS SUFFICIENTLY TO PROVIDE AN OPEN STRUCTURE WHICH READILY ACCEPTS COLORING PIGMENT, PASSING THE YARN THROUGH A DISPERSION OF AN INORGANIC PIGMENT, REMOVING EXCESS DISPERSION AND DISTRIBUTING THE DYE UNIFORMLY THROUGHOUT THE YARN BY PASSING THE YARN THROUGH ROLLERS, DRYING THE YARN AT ABOUT 600*F., WEAVING A FABRIC FROM THIS YARN AND AT LEAST ONE OTHER YARN DYED IN THIS MANNER BUT HAVING A DIFFERENT COLOR, HEATING THE FABRIC AT ABOUT 1200*F. TO REMOVE ANY VOLATILE MATERIALS FROM THE FABRIC, TO FUSE THE PIGMENT TO THE GLASS AND TO WEAVE-SEAT THE FABRIC, PASSING THE FABRIC THROUGH A GLASS FABRIC FINISH, DRYING THE FABRIC AT A TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT 320*F., AND PASSING THE FABRIC THROUGH A STEARATO CHROMYL CHLORIDE BATH FOLLOWED BY DRYING ATE ABOUT 340*F. TO PROVIDE A WATER-REPELLENT FINISH ON THE GLASS FABRIC. 